Scan barcode
bradurdaynitelive's review against another edition
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
skyrad715's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
turnershrout's review
2.0
Something HAD to be lost in translation…ironic considering that was a central theme??? Nothing was cohesive, the dialogue had depth but carried no actual weight for the plot, the academic/literary jargon was exhaustive, and the ending was actually nonsensical. Yall calling this a hot girl book are brainwashed by booktok!!!!
emspreng's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
kareninaaa's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
robesqueere's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A satire of creative writing academia and their insistence on delving into trauma while completely ignoring someone’s who’s obviously traumatized standing in front of them. Ending was not fun but up until the ending it was fun to read.
verfrommeld's review against another edition
4.0
Loved this book. It’s smarter than me but in the most humble way possible.
daysofroses's review against another edition
2.0
What a hateful little book.
It's disappointing as Oloixarac writes beautifully. But the entire novel was nothing but derision; I can recall only one or two instances that weren't expressed as smug ridicule (as small as when the protagonist told another writer that she liked her poetry). The rest of it was all virulent contempt for anything and anyone other than describing her body parts in a way that was indistinguishable from a misogynist 1960s scifi writer. The protagonist is damaged by being othered but flippantly shits on gay men (no you don't get to call a gay man a fairy to be edgy and treat him as an accessory), Chinese people (who all look the same according to the protagonist) and fat people (which is written as a disgusting trait and a physical manifestation of a woman's coarse personality).
I have purposely been avoiding reading books by male authors, but this was completely saturated in posturing for the male gaze. It's supposed to be a polemic of sorts regarding but utterly fails in that regard. It's just so much contrived edginess for the sake of edginess that it washes away an important story, one that could have been a sincere and intelligible narrative. Giving it two stars instead of one for what almost was, I guess.
It's disappointing as Oloixarac writes beautifully. But the entire novel was nothing but derision; I can recall only one or two instances that weren't expressed as smug ridicule (as small as when the protagonist told another writer that she liked her poetry). The rest of it was all virulent contempt for anything and anyone other than describing her body parts in a way that was indistinguishable from a misogynist 1960s scifi writer. The protagonist is damaged by being othered but flippantly shits on gay men (no you don't get to call a gay man a fairy to be edgy and treat him as an accessory), Chinese people (who all look the same according to the protagonist) and fat people (which is written as a disgusting trait and a physical manifestation of a woman's coarse personality).
I have purposely been avoiding reading books by male authors, but this was completely saturated in posturing for the male gaze. It's supposed to be a polemic of sorts regarding